Search

In Berkeley’s writings the topic of light is discussed in two different ways, within a theory of perception and within a metaphysics of nature of a Platonic stamp. In his first work, the original Essay for a New Theory of Vision (1709), light and colours are regarded as condition and object of vision; they are examined as contents of visual perception distinct from tangible perception. Light will be dealt with in a completely different manner in Berkeley’s last work, Siris (1744), in which a spiritualistic reading of the natural world is superimposed on modern science in general and on Newtonian physics in particular. In Siris, light (or invisible fire) is the instrument by which the causal activity of divine Intellect orders and permeates the natural world. A detailed analysis of the topic of light in the two aforementioned contexts shows inconsistencies and strained interpretations which derive from the apologetic use of the theory of vision in Berkeley’s early immaterialism and from the multi-layered and confused speculations of his late Siris. On the whole, Berkeley conceives light within the idealistic frame inherited from Platonic metaphysics of light; however, the specific themes examined in the Essay for a New Theory of Vision and in Siris derive from acquisitions of modern science, and are recast within a spiritualistic interpretation which intended both to neutralize scientific ideas through their phenomenistic reading and to exploit them for apologetic ends.

Existe já uma grande quantidade de literatura dedicada à presença na filosofia inicial de Berkeley de alguns assuntos tipicamente platônicos (arquétipos, o problema da mente de Deus, a relação entre ideias e coisas, etc.). Baseados em alguns desses escritos, nas próprias palavras de Berkeley, assim como no exame de alguns elementos da tradição platônica num amplo sentido, sugiro que, longe de serem apenas tópicos isolados, livremente espalhados nos primeiros escritos de Berkeley, eles formam uma perfeita rede de aspectos, atitudes e modos de pensar platônicos, e que, por mais alusivos ou ambíguos que esses elementos platônicos possam parecer, eles constituem um todo coerente e complexo, desempenhando um papel importante na formação da própria essência do pensamento de Berkeley. Em outras palavras, sugiro que, dadas algumas das ideias apresentadas em suas primeiras obras, foi de certo modo inevitável para George Berkeley, em virtude da lógica interna do desenvolvimento de seu pensamento, chegar a uma obra tão abertamente platônica e especulativa como Siris (1744).

Existe já uma grande quantidade de literatura dedicada à presença na filosofia inicial de Berkeley de alguns assuntos tipicamente platônicos (arquétipos, o problema da mente de Deus, a relaçáo entre ideias e coisas, etc.). Baseados em alguns desses escritos, nas próprias palavras de Berkeley, assim como no exame de alguns elementos da tradiçáo platônica num amplo sentido, sugiro que, longe de serem apenas tópicos isolados, livremente espalhados nos primeiros escritos de Berkeley, eles formam uma perfeita rede de aspectos, atitudes e modos de pensar platônicos, e que, por mais alusivos ou ambíguos que esses elementos platônicos possam parecer, eles constituem um todo coerente e complexo, desempenhando um papel importante na formaçáo da própria essência do pensamento de Berkeley. Em outras palavras, sugiro que, dadas algumas das ideias apresentadas em suas primeiras obras, foi de certo modo inevitável para George Berkeley, em virtude da lógica interna do desenvolvimento de seu pensamento, chegar a uma obra táo abertamente platônica e especulativa como Siris (1744).

No Tratado, Hume procura investigar as causas da crença nos objetos exteriores, admitindo ser impossível provar se os mesmos existem ou náo. Sua análise consistirá na investigaçáo da origem da inteligibilidade das noções de continuidade e distinçáo dos objetos sensíveis, em última instância, a crença do senso comum na continuidade e distinçáo das próprias percepções. Este texto pretende mostrar como essa discussáo humeana é um diálogo direto com a filosofia berkeleyana, a defesa humeana da crença na matéria implicando inicialmente uma certa aceitaçáo da filosofia de Berkeley, para, na seqüência, representar uma dissensáo direta com o seu princípio fundamental: ser é ser percebido. Tais colocações têm, entre outras, a finalidade de argumentar que Berkeley exerce um papel central na filosofia humeana, nesse caso como seu interlocutor direto, e que a compreensáo desse papel é parte obrigatória de um melhor esclarecimento do problema da objetividade em Hume.

Beyond the Soundtrack: Representing Music in Cinema (edited by Daniel Goldmark, Lawrence Kramer and Richard Leppert, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2007, viii-324 pp.) offers sixteen essays of various authors about film music. These papers were presented in 2004 in a study congress at the University of Minnesota. In introducing the book, the editors assert an assumption, today broadly accepted: indeed they affirm, that music has traditionally been regarded as a subordinate element in cinematographic text: film music literature still has a marginal position in the much larger field of film studies which focuses on image, narrative, film history. In this theoretical and historiographic context, the expression “Beyond the Soundtrack” is meant to be more than a title: it is the manifesto of a conceptual shift. We can summarize this change in reconsidering the importance of film music, in order to understand a movie not only as a visual, but also as a musical medium. The change of paradigm brings renewed questions and completely new issues. If we abandon the assumption, at this point obsolete, that film music has a mere functional role, it will be necessary to ask not how to conceptualize the use of music in film, but rather how the film conceptualizes music: how films imagine music, how films represent music as an artistic and social phenomenon, and how films position music as an integral parts of a fictional world. Such questions aim to consider film music not as an atmospheric expedient, but «as an agent, a force, and an object engaged in ongoing negotiations with image, narrative, and context», as the editors assert at the very beginning of their book.

In the Treatise, Hume intends to investigate the causes that induce us to believe in the existence of the body, admitting it is possible to prove if such a thing exists or not. His analysis will consist in investigating the origin of the intelligibility of the notions of continuity and distinction of sensible objects, which is, to say, the belief of the common sense in the continuity and distinction of its own perceptions. This paper aims to demonstrate that this humean discussion is a direct dialogue with Berkeley. Hume’s defense of the belief in matter initially implicating in accepting, to some degree, Berkeley’s philosophy to, further on, turn into a direct opposition to his fundamental principle: esse is percipi. Such statements have, among others, the purpose of arguing that Berkeley plays a central role in humean philosophy, in this particular case, as his direct, immediate interlocutor, and that the understanding of this role is an obligatory part in making the objectivity problem, in Hume, more clear.

Book review of Michael Herzfeld, Roman restaurant rhythms, filmed and produced by Michael Herzfeld, Berkeley Media, 2011, 25’; Anna Casella, Sapori & saperi. Cibi, ricette e culture del mondo, prefazione di Carlo Petrini, Firenze, Ed.it, 2012, pp. 233.

OCASIONALISMO Y MODERNIDAD: BERKELEY,LECTOR CRÍTICO DE MALEBRANCHE

nie dotyczy

The article presents a critical analysis of the theory of contractualism. It is stated that for contractualism, the validity of the right originates from acceptance on the part of the subjects who are under the tutelage of the right. It is opined that in order to motivate the plausibility of the perspective of the right, the theoretic adequacy of the notion of the subject should be presupposed by contractualism.

Sin resumen

Copyright of Sociologia Italiana is the property of EGEA S.p.A and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sin resumen